Tianwen-1 to arrive in Mars orbit February 10
The new colonial movement: China’s space agency, CNSA, today announced that its first Mars orbiter/lander/rover, Tianwen-1, will arrive in Mars orbit on February 10th, with the lander/rover dropping to the surface in May.
After entering orbit, Tianwen-1 will begin to prepare for a landing attempt of the mission’s rover. The orbiter will begin imaging the main candidate landing site within the huge impact basin Utopia Planitia, to the south of NASA’s Viking 2 landing site.
Getting ready for the attempt will take time however, with CNSA stating that the landing won’t take place until May.
At the moment they say that all systems are working as planned, and that they have one more course correction, the fourth, to do before entering orbit.
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The new colonial movement: China’s space agency, CNSA, today announced that its first Mars orbiter/lander/rover, Tianwen-1, will arrive in Mars orbit on February 10th, with the lander/rover dropping to the surface in May.
After entering orbit, Tianwen-1 will begin to prepare for a landing attempt of the mission’s rover. The orbiter will begin imaging the main candidate landing site within the huge impact basin Utopia Planitia, to the south of NASA’s Viking 2 landing site.
Getting ready for the attempt will take time however, with CNSA stating that the landing won’t take place until May.
At the moment they say that all systems are working as planned, and that they have one more course correction, the fourth, to do before entering orbit.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
I’ll give them credit for a gutsy move, to try to enter The Hall of the Mountain King, the surface of Mars. Reigning King: USA.
Ps. Yes, I know the story, but the soundscape is fun.
Mars is a hard target, as evidenced by the many failures and the jokes about the “Martian anti-lander defenses.” If China succeeds on their first attempt, and with a pretty hefty rover at that, it will be an impressive feat. But they get the advantage of standing on the shoulders of all the attempts before.
Ray Van Dune wrote: “I’ll give them credit for a gutsy move, to try to enter The Hall of the Mountain King, the surface of Mars.”
It is an audacious move, and from a species perspective, if not particularly a national one, a good thing. I do wish them every success.
You got me thinking about the reigning planetary ‘champions’, as far as successful planetary missions, and I considered:
Mercury: USA
Venus: USSR (but really, Russia).
Mars: USA
Asteroids: Kind of want to give this to Japan.
Jupiter: USA
Saturn: USA
Uranus: USA
Neptune: USA
Pluto: USA
Comets: Europe, probably.
Kuiper Belt: USA
Interstellar space: USA
Toshiru Mifune and Lee Marvin in “Hell on the Pacific” come to mind.
These are such early days in this outward expansion. It’s wide open. One thing is sure: the ones who get there first will be the ones who have the most to gain, be it the rewards of free enterprise or liberty.
People held hostage by their government will copy the work of others for their government (China, etc.). That government may expand its territory, but human individuals are a different equation. History has examples of where superior technology has been taken down by men with inferior tools but better motivation and therefore better creativity and willingness to risk more to achieve victory.
AFAIK, all the heavy rover / landers have had to target low altitude sites on Mars, due to the very thin atmosphere not providing good braking for chutes, etc.. I wonder who will be the first to land at the top of Olympus Mons?!
Elon: Hold my beer…
Probably more under the category of “Capitalism in Space”…
“The Economist Refers to Chinese Businessman Disappearance As “Regulation” and “Boosting Competition.”
Alibaba founder Jack Ma’s absence from public view in the past two months….
China’s highest-profile entrepreneur has not appeared in a public setting since a late October forum in Shanghai where he blasted China’s regulatory system in a speech that put him on a collision course with officials, resulting in the suspension of a $37 billion IPO of Alibaba’s Ant Group fintech arm.”
https://thenationalpulse.com/analysis/the-economist-refers-to-chinese-businessman-disappearance-as-regulation-and-boosting-competition/
“Ex-chairman of China Huarong Asset Management sentenced to death
BEIJING (Reuters) -The former chairman of China Huarong Asset Management Co has been sentenced to death, a court in the northern city of Tianjin said on Tuesday, in one of the country’s highest profile corruption cases.
Lai Xiaomin was convicted of receiving or seeking bribes totalling 1.788 billion yuan ($276.72 million) from 2008 to 2018….
“Lai Xiaomin was lawless and extremely greedy,” the court statement said.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/ex-chairman-chinas-huarong-asset-091644222.html
If they nail it…… Yay!!! Another data point received from our neighbor
Edward “they were lucky”
If they fail.,….. Ooooo”
Edward “They got lucky…….,………. Again”
When you steal technology from everyone doing hard things get a little easier.
Lee Stevenson,
I didn’t understand your question.
U2
“Seconds”
(w/ ICBM launch animation)
https://youtu.be/XSl0W-NsL98
3:10
Ray Van Dune
I like that
“here hold my beer”